Stormers, Sharks enter the URC fray

September 22, 2022
1700
Ultimate Rugby

Defending champions, the Stormers, and fellow South African side the Sharks will both kick off their respective United Rugby Championship campaigns during this weekend after both teams sat out last week’s opening round of matches.

The Bulls are in action at home in Pretoria on Saturday afternoon, and the Emirates Lions play their first tour match of the new season in Wales later that evening.

Zebre Parma host the Sharks on Friday evening in Italy, where an interesting encounter is on the cards to get the weekend’s full round of fixtures underway, with the match starting at 18h30 at the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi in Parma.

The Italians ended last season with only one win to their name but they pushed the more fancied Leinster – who topped the overall standings last season – all the way in an opening round 31-29 defeat to the Irish outfit last weekend.

The Sharks have announced a strong looking travelling squad, led by Springbok prop Thomas du Toit, for the start of their away leg in Parma, this despite the absence of numerous current Springboks as well as almost a dozen injured players, including Springbok Curwin Bosch and new recruit Vincent Tshituka.

Meanwhile, the KwaZulu-Natalians have roped in the much-travelled Fred Zeilinga to alleviate their flyhalf crisis after they lost two of their No 10s in Bosch and Lionel Cronje before the tour, with both picking up injuries during the pre-season.

Following their Friday evening clash with Zebre, the Cell C Sharks head off to Wales and Ireland for matches against the Dragons and Leinster respectively.

The Stormers, winners of last season’s inaugural title, enter the fray on Saturday afternoon when they host Irish side Connacht at the Danie Craven Stadium in Stellenbosch.

The Capetonians are hoping for a good start to their title defence on Saturday afternoon in scenic Stellenbosch in their clash with Connacht, who lost their first-round fixture 36-10 to Irish rivals Ulster in Belfast.

The Stormers are still without last season’s top try-scorer, Leolin Zas, due to rehabilitation for an ankle injury, while Ruhan Nel sustained a neck blow in a pre-season friendly. Junior Springbok midfielder Suleiman Hartzenberg is earmarked to make his debut in Stellenbosch.

The Bulls, last year’s beaten finalists, will be aiming to build on their opening-round 31-15 win over the Lions when they welcome Scottish outfit Edinburgh to Loftus Versfeld.

Director of Rugby Jake White committed his long-term future to the Vodacom Bulls last week by signing a new contract through to 2027, and he got his light blue jerseys off to a winning start over the Lions in Johannesburg.

However, the men from Pretoria will have a tough nut to crack in their second-round game against Edinburgh, who managed to outplay the Dragons 44-6 in a superb home display last week.

The Lions will be the last SA side in action this weekend when they face the Ospreys late Saturday evening in Swansea.

Although they finished outside of the top-eight last season, Ospreys were the Welsh Shield winners with 10 wins from their 18 matches, and they lost only twice at home in 2021/22, which will make them a tough nut to crack in Wales for the men from Johannesburg.

Match information:

Zebre Parma vs Cell C Sharks

Date: Friday, 23 September

Venue: Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, Parma

SA Time: 18h30

Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)

TV: SuperSport

Vodacom Bulls vs Edinburgh

Date: Saturday, 24 September

Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria

SA Time: 14h30

Referee: Adam Jones (Wales)